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THE  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA  RAIL  ROAD 


Governor  Jarvis 


to  the 


People  of  North  Carolina, 


1880. 


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WORTH  CAROLINA  HISTORICAL  COMMIE 


Western  North  Carolina  Rail  Road. 


The  Extra  Session 


OF   THE 


Legislature 


GOVERNOR    JARVIS 


TO    THE 


People  of  North  Carolina, 


RALEIGH,  N.  C: 

Edwards,  Broughton  &  Co.,  Printers  and  Benders. 

1880. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/westernnorthcaroOOnort 


GOVERNOR  JARVIS 

TO    THE 

People  of  North  Carolina 


i  EXECUTIVE  OFFICE, 

Raleigh,  February  21st,  1880. 

To  the  People  of  North   Carolina  : 

I  have  to-day  exercised  the  very  responsible  power  vested 
in  me  by  the  Constitution  and  Laws  of  North  Carolina,  in 
convening  the  General  Assembly  in  extra  session.  The 
purpose  for  which  the  extra  session  is  called  is  to  consider  a 
proposition  made  by  W.  J.  Best,  J.  N.  Tappan,  W.  R.  Grace 
and  J.  D.  Fish  for  the  purchase  of  the  State's  interest  in  and 
the  speedy  completion  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  Rail- 
road. That  road,  as  will  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the  map, 
begins  at  Salisbury  and  runs  west  to  Asheville,  a  distance 
of  148  miles,  to  which  point  it  is  now  practically  finished. 
At  Asheville  the  road  forks,  one  branch  running  off  to  the 
Northwest  with  the  French  Broad  River  to  a  place  called 
Paint  Rock,  very  close  to  the  Tennessee  line,  and  distant 
from  Asheville  45  miles.  The  other,  or  main  line,  the  one 
commonly  known  as  the  Ducktown  line,  runs  from  Ashe- 
ville southwesterdly  for  135  miles  through  the  counties  of 
Buncombe,  Haywood,  Jackson,  Macon,  Swain,  Graham  and 
Cherokee  to  Murphy,  the  county  seat  of  Cherokee,  the  ex- 
treme western  county  in  the  State.  Beyond  the  North  Car- 
olina line,  and  some  eighteen  or  twenty  miles  from  Murphy, 
in  the  direct  line  to  Chattanooga,  the  great  railroad  centre 
of  the  South  and  West  is  Ducktown.  It  will  be  seen,  there- 
fore, that  of  this  road  which  private  individuals  propese  to 


<s3 


boy  and  complete,  there  are  now  148  miles  completed  and 
200  miles  uncompleted. 

It  was  not  proper  to  do  so  in  my  Proclamation,  but  I  deem 
it  due  to  myself  now  and  to  you,  that  I  should  detail  to  you 
my  connection  with  the  proposition  for  the  sale  of  your 
property,  the  proposition  itself,  and  the  character  and  stand- 
ing of  the  parties  making  it  and  my  reasons  for  my  course. 

My  connection  with  the  matter  in  brief,  is  as  follows  : 

On  the  eighth  day  of  January  last,  Mr.  W.  J.  Best,  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  came  to  Raleigh  and  submitted  to  tne 
Board  of  Directors  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  Rail  Road, 
then  in  session,  a  proposition  to  purchase  the  State's  inter- 
est in  said  Road,  and  to  complete  the  same.  I  was  not 
present  at  any  of  the  sessions  of  the  Board,  but  was  in- 
formed by  a  copy  of  a  resolution  sent  to  me  immedi- 
ately after  their  adjournment  that  they  had  declined  to  en- 
tertain the  proposition.  On  Saturday  evening,  January  the 
tenth,  Mr.  Best  submitted  to  me  for  my  consideration,  in  the 
presence  of  the  State  Treasurer  and  of  the  Secretary  of  State, 
a  proposition  of  the  same  general  import  as  the  one  pre- 
viously submitted  to  the  Board  of  Directors,  but  differing 
from  the  former,  as  he  stated,  in  that  he  then  proposed  to 
give  the  State  $450,000  of  the  first  mortgage  bonds  of  the 
new  corporation,  instead  of  the  $850,000  of  stock  offered  to 
the  Board  of  Directors.  I  stated  to  him  that  the  $450,000 
would  not  cover  the  expenditures  made  by  the  State  on  the 
road  since  its  purchase,  and  suggested  several  other  changes, 
all  of  which  I  regarded  to  the  advantage  of  the  State. 
The  proposition,  with  these  changes  inserted,  was  re- written 
and,  together  with  Mr.  Best's  letter,  placed  on  file  in  the  Ex- 
ecutive Office.  Believing  the  matter  to  be  of  such  impor- 
tance as  to  require  my  immediate,  patient  and  earnest  in- 
vestigation, I  at  once  addressed  myself  to  its  consideration. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  proposition  was  filed,  Mr.  Best 
placed  with  me  also  letters  from  the  Senators  and  members 
of  Congress  of  North  Carolina,  approving  in  general  terms 


his  offer.  On  the  13th  da}7  of  January,  after  I  had  consid- 
ered well  the  proposition,  I  wrote  Mr.  Best  a  letter,  saying 
that  the  amount  of  first  mortgage  bonds  must  be  $550,000, 
and  suggesting  certain  other  important  amendments,  look- 
ing to  a  better  protection  of  the  State's  interest  and  better 
guarantees  for  the  certain  completion  of  the  Road.  To  this 
letter  Mr.  Best  replied  on  the  19th  day  of  January,  assent- 
ing to  all  the  proposed  changes  except  one.  On  the  29th 
day  of  January  he  returned  to  the  city  of  Raleigh,  and  on 
the  next  day  in  the  presence  of  Dr.  J.  M.  Worth,  State  Treas- 
urer, Col.  Wm.  L.  Saunders,  Secretary  of  State,  R.  H.  Battle, 
Jr.,  Esq.,  and  Col.  Junius  I.  Scales,  of  the  Board  of  Directors, 
and  C.  M.  Cooke,  Esq.,  of  the  Board  of  Internal  Improve- 
ments, he  went  over  his  whole  proposition  with  run.  Sev- 
eral additional  amendments  were  then  insisted  upon  and 
were  accepted  by  him.  He  then  left  the  city  to  visit  the 
line  of<  the  railroad,  and  while  at  Salisbury  had  a  corrected 
copy  of  the  proposition  sent  to  me  by  mail.  As  our 
members  of  Congress  had  written  to  me  in  general  terms 
approving  the  sale  of  the  road,  I  thought  it  but  courteous 
and  fair  to  them,  and  due  to  myself,  that  before  taking  any 
decisive  action  I  should  submit  to  them  the  proposition  as 
amended,  and  take  their  opinion  as  to  whether  it  was  such 
an  one  as  to  authorize  me  to  call  a  special  session  of  the  Leg- 
islature for  its  consideration.  It  was  for  this  purpose  and 
no  other  that  I  went  to  Washington. 

Before  leaving  Raleigh  I  carefully  re-read  the  proposition 
sent  me  by  Mr.  Best  from  Salisbury,  and  I  saw  two  other 
changes  that  could  be  made  therein  to  the  further  advan- 
tage of  the  State.  I  thereupon  at  once  telegraphed  Maj. 
Wilson,  the  President  of  the  Western  N.  C.  Railroad,  at 
Morganton,  to  turn  Mr.  Best  back  from  Asheville,  and  re- 
quested them  both  to  meet  me  at  Greensboro,  prepared  to 
go  on  with  me  to  Washington.  They  met  me  as  requested, 
and  on  the  way  I  called  Mr.  Best's  attention  to  the  amend- 
ments I  desired.     One  of  these  amendments  requires  him  to 


commence  paying  interest  on  the  $850,000  first  mortgage 
bonds  on  the  day  that  the  General  Assembly  shall  adopt  his 
offer,  instead  of  on  the  first  day  of  May,  as  set  forth  in  his 
proposition.  If  the  contract  should  be  agreed  upon  about 
the  middle  of  March,  this  amendment  would  make  a  differ- 
ence of  over  $7,000  in  favor  of  the  State.  The  other  change 
required  an  additional  guarantee  for  the  completion  of  the 
main  line  to  Ducktown.  After  some  hesitation,  Mr.  Best 
yielded  his  assent  to  these  changes. 

I  arrived  in  Washington  on  Thursday,  and  on  that  night 
the  North  Carolina  delegation  in  Congress,  accompanied  by 
Gen.  James  Madison  Leach  and  Col.  F.  E.  Shober  (one  of 
the  Board  of  Directors)  had  a  consultation  with  me  at  the 
Metropolitan  Hotel,  at  which  Mr.  Best  and  President  Wilson 
were  present.  The  proposition  was  read  over  and  discussed, 
and  two  changes  were  suggested,  making  more  explicit  a 
portion  that  some  of  the  delegation  thought  indefinite.  The 
conference  ended  at  a  late  hour,  with  the  understanding  that 
I  was  to  have  these  changes  properly  made  and  inserted, 
and  that  another  session  would  be  held  on  the  next  night. 
I  was  engaged  during  the  greater  part  of  the  next  day  (Fri- 
day) in  drawing  out  with  great  care  these  proposed  changes 
and  in  transposing  some  of  the  sections  so  as  to  make  the 
proposition  as  explicit  as  possible. 

On  Friday  night  these  gentlemen  again  met  me  in  con- 
ference, read  over  the  proposition  carefully,  and  addressed 
me  letters  approving  it  and  recommending  the  convening 
of  the  Legislature  in  extra  session  to  pass  upon  it. 

Before  I  left  for  Washington,  I  had  requested  Maj.  Wil- 
son to  call  together  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  W.  N.  C.  R. 
R.  to  meet  in  the  city  of  Raleigh  on  the  10th  February,  and 
I  had  called  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Internal  Improve- 
ments at  the  same  time  and  place. 

On  the  assembling  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  all  being 
present  except  Col.  Shober,  I  submitted  to  them  for  their 
consideration  the  proposition  as  now  perfected.      On  the 


next  day  I  was  informed  by  a  letter  'from  the  Secretary  of 
the  Board  that  six  of  its  members  were  opposed  to*  calling 
an  extra  session  of  the  Legislature  to  consider  and  pass  upon 
the  proposition,  and  that  five  members  favored  such  a  call. 
On  the  same  afternoon  I  submitted  the  proposition  to  the 
Board  of  Internal  Improvements,  which  body  was  equally 
divided  upon  the  subject.  Among  those  on  both  Boards 
opposing  the  assembling  of  the  Legislature  are  some  of  the 
best  men  of  the  State,  for  whose  opinions  upon  that  or  any 
other  subject  I  have  the  very  highest  regard.  But  my  duty 
was  to  me  so  plain  that  I  could  not  let  this  vital  matter  rest 
there.  On  the  12th  day  of  February  I  addressed  a  commu- 
nication to  Dr.  J.  M.  Worth,  the  State  Treasurer,  giving 
him  the  names  of  all  the  gentlemen  who  were  parties  to  the 
proposition  (which  names  Mr.  Best  had  furnished  me),  and 
requested  him  to  proceed  to  New  York  at  once  to  investi- 
gate their  financial  and  moral  standing,  and  to  report  the 
same  to  me  by  letter  at  as  early  a  day  as  possible.  At  Dr. 
Worth's  request  I  telegraphed  to  the  Hon.  Jos.  J.  Davis  to 
accompany  him  to  New  York  and  assist  him  in  the  inves- 
tigations. I  also  requested  Col.  W.  E.  Anderson,  President 
of  the  Citizens'  National  Bank  of  this  place,  to  make  similar 
inquiries  for  me,  which  he  did  through  his  correspondents 
in  New  York. 

Dr.  Worth  reports  that  he  is  "  perfectly  satisfied  that  Mr. 
Best  and  his  associates  [W.  R.  Grace,  J.  N.  Tappan  and  J. 
D.  Fish,]  possess  the  financial  ability  to  fulfill  the  contract 
submitted  to  3rou  by  them  and  that  their  personal  charac- 
ter and  standing  is  such  as  to  give  positive  assurance  that 
they  honestly  intend  to  carry  out  any  contract  they  may 
enter  into." 

Mr.  Davis  reports  that  Messrs.  James  D.  Fish,  W.  E« 
Grace  and  J.  N.  Tappan  "  are  gentlemen  of  large  means  and 
all  of  them  gentlemen  of  high  character  commanding  the 
confidence  of  business  men." 

Col.  Anderson  reports  that  the  sources  from  which  he  de- 


8 


rived  his  "  information  are  varied  and  of  the  very  highest 
respectability  in  New  York  City,  and  they  all  agree  that 
these  are  men  who  would  not  intentionally  enter  upon  any 
undertaking  which  would  involve  their  good  names,  or 
which  they  might  not  be  able  to  carry  out." 

I  thereupon  at  once  submitted  the  proposition,  my  letter 
books,  and  the  reports  made  to  me  by  the  gentlemen  above 
named,  to  the  Council  of  State,  and  asked  their  advice  as  to 
whether  the  General  Assembly  ought  to  be  convened  in 
extra  session.  I  am  informed  by  the  Council  of  State  that 
they  are  unanimous  in  advising  an  extra  session  of  the 
General  Assembly  to  consider  the  proposition  for  the  pur- 
chase of  the  Railroad,  and  in  accordance  with  this  advice 
I  have  issued  my  proclamation  as  the  law  directs. 

I  have  exercised  all  the  intelligence,  patience  and  care 
that  I  possess,  in  conducting  the  negotiations,  and  in  throw- 
ing all  possible  safeguards  around  the  interests  of  the  State. 
I  felt  obliged,  in  justice  to  the  parties  contemplating  the 
purchase,  while  the  negotiation  was  in  progress,  not  to  make 
it  public ;  but  now  that  I  have  reached  the  conclusion,  so 
far  as  I  am  concerned  I  desire  that  the  speediest,  greatest 
and  most  detailed  publicity  be  given  to  it.  For  this  pur- 
pose I  have  caused  a  thousand  copies  of  the  proposition  to 
be  printed  and  sent  out — one  to  each  member  of  the  Gene- 
ral Assembly,  Sheriff,  Register  of  Deeds  and  Clerk  of  the 
Superior  Court,  and  to  every  newspaper  in  the  State.  Any 
information  that  I  have  on  this  important  subject  will  be 
freely  given  to  any  citizen  of  North  Carolina  who  shall  de- 
sire it,  and  my  letter-books  are  open  for  inspection. 

The  proposition  of  Mr.  Best  and  his  associates  as  per- 
fected, briefly  stated,  is  this :  The  State,  through  its  proper 
commissioners,  is  to  make  a  deed,  without  any  warranty  of 
title,  to  Mr.  Best  and  his  associates  for  the  State's  interest  in 
the  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad.  This  deed  is  not  to 
be  delivered  to  the  purchasers  until  the  railroad  is  com- 
pleted both  to  Ducktown  and  to  Paint  Rock,  nor  until  all 


9 

the  other  stipulations  of  their  contract  are  performed ;  but 
until  then  it  is  to  be  held  in  trust  by  The  United  States 
Trust  Company,  of  New  York,  upon  the  following  condi- 
tions : 

If  the  road  is  completed  as  agreed  upon  in  the  contract  and 
all  the  other  conditions  therein  stipulated  are  faithfully  per- 
formed, the  deed  is  to  be  delivered  to  the  purchasers;  but 
if  they  fail  in  any  one  the  grant  becomes  void,  the  property 
reverts  to  the  State,  the  United  States  Trust  Company  is  to 
re-deliver  to  the  State  the  deed  and  all  papers  pertaining 
thereto,  and  the  State  re-enters  at  once  into  the  possession, 
control  and  ownership  of  the  entire  property. 

Before  the  delivery  of  this  deed  to  the  United  States 
Trust  Company,  the  purchasers  are  to  enter  into  a  contract 
binding  themselves,  their  executors,  administrators  and  as- 
signs, to  build  the  Branch  Railroad  to  Paint  Rock  by  July 
1st,  1881,  the  Ducktown  line  as  far  as  Pigeon  river  by  the 
same  time,  and  to  complete  the  Ducktown  line  by  January 
1st,  1885.  From  the  day  the  act  authorizing  the  sale  is 
ratified,  the  purchasers  are  to  pay  all  the  interest  on  the 
$850,000  mortgage  bonds  which  the  State  is  now  paying, 
and  are  in  due  time  to  take  up  and  cancel  the  said  bonds. 

The  purchasers  are  to  have  the  right  to  mortgage  any 
mile  of  the  said  W.  N.  C.  R.  R.  that  has  been  completed 
and  is  in  operation,  to  the  extent  of  $15,000  per  mile,  but 
the  aggregate  amount  of  these  mortgage  bonds  shall  include 
the  $850,000  heretofore  issued,  until  these  latter  bonds  shall 
be  cancelled.  Of  these  bonds  issued  by  the  purchasers  they 
are  to  deliver  to  the  State  Treasury  $550,000  to  re-imburse 
the  State  for  its  expenditures  made  since  the  purchase  of 
the  road  in  1875.  The  mortgage  to  be  made  by  the  pur- 
chasers is  to  contain  a  condition  that  it  cannot  be  foreclosed 
until  the  railroad  is  completed  both  to  Paint  Rock  and  to 
Murphy,  in  Cherokee  county,  and  this  condition  is  to  be  ex- 
plicitly stated  in  the  body  of  all  the  mortgage  bonds,  so 
that  no  defalcation  in  the  payment  of  interest  or  any  thing 


10 


else  can  work  a  sale  of  the  railroad  until  it  is  completed.  If 
the  parties  shall  fail  in  their  contract,  the  remedy  is  two- 
fold. First,  the  State  has  the  legal  right  and  the  ability  to 
enforce  its  performance.  But  if  from  any  cause  it  shall  be- 
come impracticable  or  inexpedient  to  enforce  its  perform- 
ance, the  railroad  again  becomes  the  property  of  the  State, 
which  takes  that  part  from  Salisbury  to  Paint  Rock  with  all 
the  rolling-stock  and  equipment  free  and  discharged  of  all 
mortgage,  lien  or  encumbrance  of  any  and  ever}7  kind,  in 
favor  of  the  purchasers  or  any  other  person  or  corporation 
except  the  $850,000  now  on  it,  and  the  actual  expenditures 
made  by  the  purchasers  in  the  construction,  repair  and 
equipment  of  the  said  road,  not  to  exceed  in  the  aggregate 
$850,000.  But  this  lien  or  indebtedness  shall  not  be  due  or 
in  any  manner  collectable  until  the  completion  of  the  Duck- 
town  line  to  Murphy. 

So  that  whatever  money  the  purchaser  shall  have  ex- 
pended upon  the  work  will  be  absolutely  forfeited  unless  the 
road  shall  be  completed  both  to  Murphy  and  to  Paint  Rock. 
If,  therefore,  the  purchasers  build  the  Paint  Rock  branch 
and  stop  there,  the  State  will  take  possession  of  the  railroad, 
which  is  reasonably  estimated  to  be  worth  $3,000,000.  The 
only  encumbrance  upon  it  will  be  the  $850,000  which  is 
now  a  lien  upon  it,  and  which  will  be  due  in  1890,  and  the 
amount  expended  not  to  exceed  $850,000,  which  latter 
amount  will  not  be  due  until  the  Ducktown  line  is  com- 
pleted to  Murphy  ;  and  if  the  road  shall  never  be  completed 
to  Murphy  this  amount  will  never  be  due.  It  will  be  seen, 
therefore,  that  unless  the  purchasers  build  the  road  to  Duck- 
town,  the  State  will  get  a  completed  road,  said  to  be  worth 
$3,000,000  cash,  for  $850,000. 

The  proposition  also    contains  a  provision   that  the  said 
purchasers,  in  the  matter  of  transportation   shall  not  dis- 
criminate  against   any    North  Carolina   city   or   town,  or 
against  any  one  North  Carolina  city  or  town  over  another. 
The  State  is  to  hire  to  the  purchasers — not  give  them — five 


11 


hundred  convicts,  for  which  they  are  to  pay  to  the  State 
$125  each  per  year,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  $62,500 
annually  for  five  years,  or  $312,500  in  all 

The  reasons  that  have  influenced  me  to  convene  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  in  extra  session,  are — 

First  The  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad  belongs  to 
the  people  of  North  Carolina.  It  has  been  built  up  to  its 
present  condition  by  your  money,  it  is  slowly  progressing 
towards  completion  by  the  aid  you  give  it,  and  surely  you 
have  the  right  to  say  whether  you  will  sell  it  to  those  who 
will  complete  it,  or  will  continue  to  be  taxed  for  its  con- 
struction. 

Second.  Under  existing  laws,  the  appropriations  for  the 
building  of  the  road,  to  be  paid  in  cash  out  of  the  State 
Treasur}r,  annually,  are  :  For  interest  on  the  first  mortgage 
bonds,  $59,500  ;  for  the  purchase  of  iron  and  material,  $70,- 
000;  and  for  the  support  of  convicts  about  $45,000 — mak- 
ing in  all  $174,500.  To  collect  this  money  and  place  it  in 
the  Treasury  the  sheriffs  get  5  per  cent,  commission, 
amounting  to  $8,725,  which  added  to  $174,500,  the  amount 
collected,  makes  $183,000  in  money  collected  out  of  your 
property  every  year. 

Third.  The  taxable  property  of  the  State  is  $157,967,481. 
To  raise  $183,000,  therefore,  out  of  this  property  requires  a 
tax  of  12  cents  on  every  $100  worth  of  property.  It  is  a 
simple  matter  of  calculation  for  each  tax  payer  to  know  the 
exact  sum  he  pays  annually  and  will  continue  to  pay  if  you 
decline  to  sell  the  road  and  decide  to  go  on  with  the  work 
yourselves. 

Fourth.  The  price  to  be  paid  for  the  convicts,  that  is  to 
say  $62,500  a  year  or  $125.00  a  head  payable  quarterly  in 
cash  will  entirely  relieve  you  of  the  burden  of  the  mainte- 
nance of  500  convicts. 

Fifth.  I  think  you  have  a  right  to  the  opportunity  of 
saying  through  the  Legislature  whether  you  will  relieve 
yourselves  entirely  of  this  burden,  or  whether  you  will  use 


12 


the  money  to  hasten  the  completion  of  the  Western  Insane 
Asylum  at  Morganton,  so  that  those  of  ourfellow  beings  whom 
God  has  bereft  of  reason  may  be  provided  for  with  decent 
comforts  instead  of  languishing  in  our  common  jails. 
?*  Sixth.  You  have  a  right  to  say  whether  you  will  continue 
in  fortfe  the  existing  laws  or  use  the  money  now  appropri- 
ated to  this  purpose  for  fostering  public  schools  and  the  edu- 
cation of  your  children,  in  which  so  much  has  been  left 
undone  by  North  Carolina. 

Seventh.     You  have  a  right  to  say  whether   or   not   this 
property  shall   pass  from  your  hands  into  those  of  private 
capitalists  who  will  speedily  complete  both  lines  of  this  im- ' 
portant  railway  without  further  burden  to  you. 

Eighth.  You  have  a  right  to  say  whether  you  are  willing 
that  these  capitalists  shall  invest  $4,000,000  of  their  own 
money  in  developing  in  the  near  future  one  of  the  grandest 
and  most  important  sections  of  your  State,  a  section  that 
bids  fair  to  be  the  great  mining  camp  of  the  Union,  and 
wThether  this  investment  shall  be  followed  by  others  almost 
equally  as  important. 

Ninth.  It  is  for  you  to  say  whether  capitalists,  who  have 
been  urged  by  appeals,  constantly  and  earnestly  made,  to 
come  and  invest  their  money  amongst  you,  shall  be  permit- 
ted to  do  so. 

Tenth.  It  is  for  you  to  say  whether  your  fellow-citizens 
of  the  West  are  again  to  be  disappointed.  For  nearly  a  half 
century  they  have  appealed  to  you  for  help.  For  a  quarter 
of  a  century  you  have  responded  to  their  appeals  with  all 
the  means  in  your  possession.  During  that  time,  after  ex- 
pending millions  you  have  been  able,  of  the  three  hundred 
and  forty  miles  of  railway  which  you  projected  nearly  thirty 
years  ago,  to  complete  only  one  hundred  and  forty,  and  the 
track  upon  the  part  completed  is  almost  worn  out.  You 
have  in  your  political  conventions  often  pledged  yourselves 
to  complete  the  other  two  hundred  miles  and  appropriate 
legislation  has   been  participated  in  by  both  parties  to  re- 


13 


deem  this  pledge.  Private  capitalists  now  offer  to  relieve 
you  of  this  obligation.  Whatever  may  be  the  speculation 
on  that  subject,  who  can  say  when  another  offer  will  be 
made  ?  You  are  entitled  to  have  an  opportunity  to  accept 
this  offer  or  to  decide  to  run  the  risk  of  another. 

Eleventh.  You  have  a  right  to  say  that  you  will  keep  your 
faith.  Every  plan  yet  suggested  for  the  State  to  go  on  with 
the  work  without  further  taxation  looks  to  the  abandon- 
ment of  the  main  or  Ducktown  line,  and  the  completion  of 
the  branch  to  Paint  Rock  alone.  Before  your  plighted 
faith  is  broken,  you  are  entitled  to  the  opportunity  of  ac- 
cepting, if  you  desire,  a  proposition  that  will  enable  you  to 
keep  that  faith,  and  to  strengthen  rather  than  loosen  the 
bonds  that  bind  the  mountains  to  the  plains. 

Twelfth.  This  is  the  first  offer  you  have  had  for  the  pur- 
chase of  the  road  and  for  its  completion  by  private  means. 
It  may  or  may  not  be  the  last.  But  if  I  knew  absolutely 
that  one  equally  advantageous  would  be  made  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  at  its  regular  session  next  year,  I  would  still 
deem  it  my  duty  to  place  it  in  your  power  to  act  now.  The 
extra  session,  I  find  upon  investigation,  will  cost  you  about 
$13,000,  detailed  as  follows  : 

170  members  at  $4  per  diem $680 

2  presiding  officers,  $2  per  diem  additional 4 

7  clerks  at  $5  per  diem 35 

4  door-keepers  at  $4  per  diem , 16 

4  servants  at  $1.50  per  diem 6 

5  pages  at  $1  per  diem 5 

Printing,  fuel,  lights  and  stationary  estimated  at  $29 

per  diem  (ample) 29 

Total  per  diem $775 

It  is  thought  that  ten  days  will  be  amply  sufficient  for 


Microfilmed 
SOLINET/ASERL  PROJECT 


14 


the  Legislature  to  pass  upon  this  question.     Then,  ten  days 
at  |775  per  diem,  will  aggregate,  without  mile- 
age  $  7,750  00 

To  which  add  mileage,  taken  from  the  Auditor's 

book 5,637  75 

Total  cost $13,387  75 

This  is  less  than  one  cent  on  each  $100  worth  of  property. 
To  wait  until  next  January  means  that  the  sheriffs  shall 
collect  of  you  for  the  railroad  this  year  $175,000  ;  that  is  to 
say,  twelve  cents  on  the  $100  worth  of  property,  the  appro- 
priations for  the  road  being  that  amount.  To  act  now, 
rather  than  a  year  from  now,  will  cost  $13,000,  and  save 
$175,000.  In  other  words,  it  will  cost  one  cent  on  the  $100 
worth  of  property,  and  save  twelve  cents.  Now  I  think  you 
have  a  right  to  say  whether  you  desire  to  have  that  eleven 
cents  collected  this  year  or  not,  or  what  you  will  have  done 
with  it  if  collected. 

Of  the  million  and  a  quarter  of  people  in  your  State  I  am 
the  only  one,  on  account  of  the  position  in  which  you  have 
placed  me,  who  can  give  you  the  power  to  answer  these 
questions  and  exercise  these  rights  for  yourselves  through 
your  representatives,  and  to  say  what  you  will  have  done 
with  this  property  and  the  money  you  are  annually  contrib- 
uting to  build  it.  After  mature  deliberation,  I  have  de- 
termined, whether  wisely  or  unwisely  the  future  will  de- 
monstrate, to  give  you  this  opportunity.  The  way  is  now 
open  to  you,  and  it  is  for  you  to  say  what  shall  be  done. 
Respectfully, 

THOS.  J.  JARVIS. 


GAYLORD    Bfl 

MAKERS 

SYRACUSE,-  NY. 

PAT.  JAN.  21,  IBOa 


4    It 


00020353001 


This  book  may  be  kept  out  one  month  unless  a  recall 
notice  is  sent  to  you.  It  must  be  brought  to  the  North 
Carolina  Collection  (in  Wilson  Library)  for  renewal. 


-orm  No.  A-369 


